Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Disneyland 10K Race Recap

It is the first race required for the Dumbo Double Dare Disneyland Double Dare and since I wanted to keep my legacy status (meaning running every year since the challenge's inauguration - this year marking year number FIVE) that meant setting the alarms at the zero-dark-thirty and running around the Disneyland Resort before the sun came out.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself, so let me back up just a minute since a lot happens leading up to a race!

Registration for these races open EARLY... Like Ryan and I registered back in December of last year. The craziness of one hour sell-outs seem to have died down in recent years (thank goodness because the stress of having to register the moment a runDisney race opens can take years off your life), but you still have to sign up many months in advance, especially for coveted races and crazy challenges.

runDisney changed their policy on bib pick-up a few years back, now requiring everyone to go to the Expo to pick up their stuff (in the past you were able to grab a friend or family member's bib if you had a copy of their ID). No worries, there is always a ton to see and do at the Health & Fitness Expos, so it hasn't been an issue for me. With that being said, I was bummed to see the Expo hours didn't start until noon on Friday. The hubby and I were at Downtown Disney for the Sparkle Athletic Donut Meet-Up at 10:30am and I was hoping to grab my gear from the Expo before heading to the Cigna Blogger Meet-Up at noon, but the late opening really cramped my style. Thankfully we were able to head over after the "Cigna's Great Race" shenanigans concluded without having to deal with overtly large of crowds.

I can hardly believe that the 2012 Disneyland Half was my FIRST half and
that I've run this challenge every year since it was announced in 2013!

Locked and loaded! Ready to rock and roll!

I am not one for shopping (or spending money in general) at Expos {read: "Carlee is cheap frugal"}, but I never pass up a great photo op ;) We stopped by the Good Sense booth because Ryan saw a green screen and HAD to get a picture. He picked the dinosaur background and I've gotta admit, it was a great choice.

On the way out I saw the Pixar wall! Although the line was long, I told Ry we needed to wait. I mean, how cute are these?! (The photographer was having fun and wanted to pose us like "cool dudes", but they didn't turn out half bad.)

I'm pretty much in love with this picture of us!

By the time we finished and walked back to our hotel, it was time to change (remember, it was a million and a half degrees and I had spent most of the afternoon running around DCA conquering Cigna's Great Race) and get ready for dinner. We were meeting friends who live in the Anaheim area to celebrate the ALL CLEAR on his recent cancer scan.

Of course Ryan was the one who picked this "pose"...

We stayed out a little later than I normally would have before a runDisney race, but friends and family come first (and, as my mom always says, "You can sleep when you're dead"). Once we got back to the hotel it was time to foam roll, stretch and make sure everything was ready for the following morning (which, at this point, was only a few hours away).

SURPRISE! Shortly after we registered for the race, I asked the hubby if he wanted to dress up with me. Normally he's pretty opposed to it (racing isn't serious business for him, but he doesn't feel the need to always be obnoxious like I do), but he said he would be down. I thought we needed a duo costume and we decided on Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from Zootopia. I had the majority of my outfit already (minus the props) and it was legit running gear so knew it'd work. (Yes, I know Zootopia is NOT Pixar, but the "theme" was released after we had already decided on our characters.)

I did have to buy the top and shorts for Ryan, so he was running in stuff that would be comfortable and breathable, but he said he'd definitely rock the top again for golf (I grabbed in on Amazon and it was actually a men's activewear shirt, not a costume piece) and has been wearing the shorts already.

With the race starting at 5am and our hotel being about a 25 minute walk, we made sure to be ready and out the door by 4am (I know, right?! Like I said, runDisney mornings are INSANELY early!). As soon as we got outside we knew it was going to be a hot and humid race. (People had commented on my #FlatCarlee picture, saying I obviously wouldn't need the long sleeve shirt, but if you know me, you know I go ALLTHEWAY when it comes to my costumes ;))

Thought we should snap a quick picture in the hotel before going out into the elements and sweating
through our costumes ;)

By the time we got over to the Family Reunion Area, both of us were already sweaty, so we devised a plan. I asked Ry if he wanted to stop at characters and we decided if the line was 10 people or less or if it was a character we really wanted to stop for, we would, otherwise we would listen to our bodies and take our pace easy but get to the finish line as quickly as possible so we weren't out on the course sweating for longer than we needed to be.

I think our costumes turned out pretty awesome if you ask me!

The hubby was seeded in Corral C {FYI - You do not need to submit a proof of time for runDisney races shorter than a half marathon, just an estimated finish time, so the seeding can be a little "iffy" in the shorter races, but we still try and submit everything as honestly as possible}, so I moved back to be with him (like most races, you are able to move back to a slower pace corral, but cannot move forward to a faster one).

Waiting to get the show on the road

At 4:59am they let the wheelchair racers take off and by 5:00am the runners were taking over the course. There was about a four minute delay between the corral starts, so right around 5:12am Corral C was released to tackle the 10K.

Let's get this party started!

The course for this race was pretty fun. I felt like the majority of it was in the parks (or at least in the backlot of the parks), as opposed to out on the Anaheim streets. YAY for more Disney (and therefore character) time!

The hubby and I ended up stopping a few times along the way. The Monsters, Inc. characters all had huge lines (which was to be expected since it was the theme of the race), so we passed on them, but we did grab a picture with Remy (the hubby sometimes calls me "Little Chef" and we never see him out so HAD to stop), in front of the World of Color (since it's so pretty in the dark), with some dancing fish (they had no line and the hubby wanted a short break), and seeing as I was a police-bunny for the day, we pulled over for a quick picture with some fellow officers.

The professional photographers snapped a couple winners of us throughout the parks. And one of them actually had us both looking at the same camera for once (#ItsAChristmasMiracle).

Okay, next time we MUST coordinate where we are looking!

Score for having us both in the shot. Fail for having neither one of us looking at the camera.

This might be my favorite running picture of us EVER!

At one point Ryan tried to jump on Main Street, but the picture turned out pretty dark (I told him next time to warn the photographer so they're ready). He also was "acting like a zombie" later, but that one also looks pretty dark.

I was sort of surprised at how quickly the race flew by. Every time we saw a mile marker I got a little sad because I wanted the fun to last a little longer (although the hubby laughed at me and said he was ready to be done). And apparently those emotions were written all over our faces when we crossed the finish line ;)

The sun starting to poke out its little head by the time we crossed the finish line and as we were walking through the finisher shoot there was a pretty amazing sunrise happening.

I loved that they had some props (or at least large signs) in the Family Reunion Area that you could use for photo ops. The Pizza Planet delivery truck was pretty awesome if you ask me!

Okay, so these balloons were for the kids races (with an Up theme), but I couldn't pass up the colors!

Despite the heat and humidity, and even with the stops for characters and the potty we were able to finish with a very respectable time (and in the top 12.5% of finishers). SCORE ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS!

The results show our official time as 1:04:22.

There were a few things I would've changed (just in case runDisney cares about pleasing me ;)). First, the hubby and I tried to pull over to snap a quick castle selfie but were told by race officials we were NOT allowed (but I saw MANY pictures throughout the day of people who were able to stop later...). Also, with the higher temps and humidity, I would've loved to have another water station. Maybe it was because of my long sleeves, but man, I was parched (and I drank over 150 ounces of water the day before so it was not due to dehydration). Finally, I wish they'd add large lights near the character stops (especially for the ones where there is not a professional photographer). We finished the race before the sun came up and night pictures are hard, so having the characters well lit would be much appreciated.

All-in-all, this was a great race. I mean, I wouldn't keep coming back if it sucked, right?! And if you want to read my past recaps, check out my 2013 recap HERE, my 2014 recap HERE, my 2015 recap HERE and my 2016 recap HERE.